Commentary: Lessons Learned From the 2016 US Presidential Election
Theodore Roosevelt said, “A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.”
On late Tuesday (08/11) night in the United States (around midday Wednesday in Asia), US citizens cast their votes to elect their new president as Barack Obama ends his eight-year term in the White House. The US uses an electoral college system, which means that citizens do not directly elect the president, instead they choose electors, who usually pledge to vote for particular candidates.
The US Electoral College consists of 538 electors and the candidate who receives at least 270 electoral votes, which is the threshold, will be named the president-elect. In the 2016 election, Donald Trump was named the winner and will be inaugurated as the 45th president of the US. He successfully won the election by obtaining 276 electoral votes, while his rival, Hillary Clinton, only managed to secure 218 votes.
Trump and Clinton, the two final candidates in this election were portrayed by the media as two contrasting figures.
Donald Trump, a Republican, campaigned as a successful entrepreneur, yet he made statements that were considered very controversial, including insults to women and minorities including African Amercians, Muslims and Hispanics.
On the other hand, Hillary Clinton was largely seen as a progressive leader, a Democrat who aspired to be the first female president of the US. However, her leaked e-mails scandal and her health status provided obstacles for her during her campaign.
After Trump was announced as the winner of the election, many people in the US, mostly Clinton supporters, expressed their disappointment. From celebrities to parents and immigrants, they all feared that Trump would do the things he previously stated during his campaign, like controling the flow of immigrants to the US and imposing a ban on Muslims entering the country. Given the circumstances, is there is no hope for democracy? Is there anything that we can learn from the 2016 US presidential election?
One of the most prominent actors in any democracy are political parties. In a democratic system, political parties decide on the candidate they would support for the election. Making such a decision is certainly not an easy task. That particular candidate should embody the values of the political party and also have a vision that attracts other voters outside the party itself. However, political parties need to pay attention to the demographics of the voters.
For example, in a multicultural society, a campaign with divisive statements which encourage discrimination towards certain religions or race could potentially drive certain voters away. Even if the candidate wins the election, previous divisive statements would have increased the gaps between the people, making it even more possible to trigger conflict among society thus damaging the country’s stability. Instability can cause a lot of problems for the president-elect in the future and implementing policies would be even more difficult with a massive division of opinion among the public. This is why it is very likely that Trump’s presidency will be a tumultuous one.
While many people point out the flaws of the Electoral College, it is important to admit that Trump has proven to be capable of attracting a large number of voters which enabled him to win the election. Yes, Trump did make a lot of comments that are degrading to women and minorities and so on, yet his promises to establish a more inward-looking government cannot be neglected.
Based on the data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US unemployment rate has never been higher than 4.4 percent in the last ten years. In October 2009, the unemployment rate reached 10 percent. In January to October 2016 alone, the unemployment rate ranged between 4.7 and 5 percent. Since Trump already promised to create 25 million new jobs and maintain the economic growth by 3.5 percent annually, it is not surprising that more people have turned to vote for him. This situation also shows how Trump’s campaign staffs and advisors managed to capture the people’s main concerns and use them effectively during his campaigns.
Since Trump has promised to create 25 million new jobs and maintain economic growth at a rate of 3.5 percent annually, it is not surprising that more people have turned to vote for him. This situation also shows how Trump’s campaign staff and advisors managed to capture the voters main concerns and use them effectively during his campaign.
Despite the fact that anti-Trump rallies have been staged all over the US after the result announcement, the one thing we should keep in mind is that democracy allows people to express their opinion, their choice and their aspirations. No matter what the polls say, even if the outcome is far from our expectations, we should be humble enough to respect and accept it since it represents the will of the people.
Candini Candanila graduated from the master’s program in international energy at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po Paris) in 2016 and received a scholarship from the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education, Ministry of Finance, Indonesia. She previously obtained her bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of Indonesia and worked as a research assistant at the Center for International Relations Studies at the University of Indonesia.
Tags: Keywords: